Today, Baltimore County police officers are wearing mourning bands on their badges in honor of a fallen hero.

On February 7, 2000, Sergeant Bruce Prothero was shot and killed while working a second job as a security guard at a jewelry store in Pikesville.

Sergeant Prothero was shot in the parking lot when he pursued the four armed suspects that stole jewelry inside the store. The suspects then fled the scene in a getaway car. Two suspects were arrested several days later. The other two suspects were arrested approximately two weeks later in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All four suspects were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

Sergeant Prothero had been employed with the Baltimore County Police Department for 13 years. He was married and the father of five young children.